Eamon de Valera

Eamon de Valera, original name Edward de Valera
(born Oct. 14, 1882, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Aug. 29, 1975, Dublin, Ire.), Irish politician and patriot, who served as taoiseach (prime minister; 1932–48, 1951–54, 1957–59) and president (1959–73) of Ireland. An active revolutionary from 1913, he became president of Sinn Féin in 1917 and founded the Fianna Fáil party in 1926. In 1937 he made his country a “sovereign” state, renamed Ireland, or Éire. His academic attainments also inspired wide respect; he became chancellor of the National University of Ireland in 1921.